Alec Berg, one of the executive producers on “Silicon Valley,” was recently asked if the HBO comedy would lose some of its comedic oomph now that T.J. Miller has departed. He scoffed at the notion while referring to his cast as the “Golden State Warriors of comedy.”

“It’s like, yeah, we’ve lost Andre Iguodala, but we still have Steph Curry and Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson and some other guy on the Warriors whose name I don’t know,” he said. “… So I don’t feel like we can’t win championships anymore.”

Unfortunately, there’s just a slight problem with his analogy. In assessing Miller’s value to the cast, you could argue that he was more Draymond Green (That “other guy”?) than Iguodala. And as any devoted citizen of Dub Nation will tell you, Green is a charismatic all-star — one who has been called the “heart and soul” of his team.

Jimmy O. Yang as Jian-Yang

All of which is a way of saying that, as “Silicon Valley” returns for its fifth season this weekend, there is a hole there. Miller and his contributions as the dimwitted, weed-smoking tech investor Erlich Bachman are undeniably missed — even as other characters keep his name alive in the story line.

As we pick up with the Bay Area-set satire, the nerdy bros of Pied Piper — Richard (Thomas Middleditch), Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani), Gilfoyle (Martin Starr) and Jared (Zach Woods) — are flush with cash and closer to Valley fame than ever before. They’re recruiting new employees and moving into plush new offices. Life should be good.

But of course these guys have made a habit out of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. So expect more money to bring more problems, along with more pressure and more outside interference. As for the latter, Gavin Belson (Matt Ross), the dunderheaded chief of Hooli, is back in the Bay and ready to make life miserable for the ever-jittery Richard.

And what about the AWOL Erlich? The last we saw of him he was zoning out in a Tibetan opium den. No one has heard from him in months, but that doesn’t mean the guys have vacated his Palo Alto house — the so-called hacker hostel. No, they’re still hunkered down in their messy digs. In fact, Erlich’s longtime archenemy, Jian-Yang (Jimmy O.Yang), has a deliciously devious — if ill-conceived — plan to assume control of the residence.

But despite the new story lines, Season 5 of “Silicon Valley” starts off with a been-there-done-that feel to it. The Pied Piper boys continue to bicker with one another over the direction of their company. Jared is still having anxiety attacks and Richard is still experiencing gastronomical distress whenever he is forced into a leadership role. It all feels … well, familiar.

That’s not to say the tech comedy doesn’t have its amusing moments. It certainly does. And, as Berg points out, this supremely talent cast is still packed with stars who know how to score. (Zach Woods is particularly laugh-worthy in the early episodes). But the show, like a lot of TV series in Season 5, simply feels like it’s running low on fresh ideas.

Maybe it might have felt that way even if Miller and his bong-ripping craziness was still around. Maybe not. But there’s no denying that his brash blowhard of a character brought a change of pace to the show, giving it some extra punch.

Yes, you can still win without Draymond Green on the court, but you might not do it with the same kind of swagger and panache.